The word tactile refers to the sensation of touch, so when we speak of tactile cues, we're simply referring to all the various ways in which you make physical contact with your dog in order to guide him through a command or otherwise indicate just what, exactly, it is that you want him to do.

Tactile cues are especially important in the early stages of training as you are engaged in the process of ensuring that your dog gets in the habit of performing each command correctly.

As your dog grows to master a given command, you will want to gradually fade out the tactile cues you used to teach him, back when he was first getting the idea of how to go about it.